Anti-drug hotline receives 150 calls in first week of operations

A NEW confidential phoneline to combat drug dealing received 150 calls in its first week in operation.

Dial To Stop Drug Dealing, which was launched last Wednesday week, is the first non-garda anti-drugs phoneline in the country.

Organisers yesterday hailed the first week as a great success and said more than 150 calls had been received and that a significant amount of new information had been passed on to local gardaí.

The phoneline on 1800-940320 is a test project by the Blanchardstown Local Drug Taskforce in north Dublin.

Gardaí indicated the information the line produced was of good quality.

“We are delighted with the response in the first week and we ask people, especially young adults, to continue to tell us what they know by calling the number,” said Joe Doyle, co-ordinator of the Local Drugs Task Force.

“Some people are unwilling or unable to phone the gardaí. This freephone is not about replacing direct contact with the gardaí, it just gives people another option.”

The phoneline, which runs until June 13, is part of an effort by the taskforce to take action against the rise of drug dealing in the area.

Recently released detection figures for the Blanchardstown area indicate an increase in both supply and possession of drugs.

Supply detections are up 36% from 61 to 83 between 2004 and 2005.

Possession detections are up 182% from 57 to 161 over the same period.

The taskforce wants to receive calls from people who have witnessed — or know of — drug dealing in the Blanchardstown area.

The information will then be passed on to the gardaí.

Mr Doyle said the call centre which operates the phoneline won’t ask for the caller’s name, won’t trace the call and won’t record the caller’s number.